1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in a display unit for a vehicle, adapted to project a light pointer on a surface of a meter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a display for a vehicle such as a meter is provided on a front part of a room of a vehicle such as an automobile. There have been known various display units for the vehicle. Above all, an analog type meter in which a pointer is rotated along a pointer rotating area formed on a surface of the meter is usual.
A structure including a meter surface having a scale and a light pointer projected on a pointer rotating area of the meter surface and formed by line-shaped laser beam is known as the analog type meter, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open H08-193852, for reference.
However, because the light pointer is adapted to carry out a circular movement about a base of the pointer in the conventional analog type meter, the pointer rotating area of the meter surface to which the light pointer is projected must be formed into a circular shape. If the meter surface is formed into a non circular shape such as an ellipse, the light pointer projected in the circular shape does not correspond to the non-circular meter surface, and therefore there is a fear that it is difficult to judge what scale the light pointer indicates.
From the circumstances, there is a problem that the meter surface or the pointer rotating area must be limited to the circular shape, and it is not possible to form the meter surface and so on in any shape such as the ellipse.
Moreover, as another example using the light pointer, there is known a display for a vehicle disclosed in Japanese Utility Model H 5-17619.
However, in the display for the vehicle as described in the document because a variety of optical parts for generating a light pointer are disposed to disperse in a meter displaying device, there is a problem that the display has a disorganized structure.
Moreover, in the display for the vehicle, because the pointer has a short bar-like shape, it is necessary to provide an indicator displaying part on a position out of the pointer rotating area of the meter surface so that the indicator displaying part is not obscured by means of the pointer. Accordingly, the meter surface must have separately the pointer rotating area and a displaying portion of the indicator displaying part, therefore there is a problem that the meter surface become large in size and the miniaturization is not achieved and further a limitation is generated on a design.
In vehicles such as automobiles, an instrument panel provided on a front portion of a room is provided with a storage device for a vehicle such as a glove box disposed in a front of a passenger seat, usually, (for reference, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open H 11-255000). A meter device is also provided in a front of a driver seat.
However, in the storage device described in the patent document, because the storage device such as the glove box and the meter device are attached separately to the instrument panel, there is a problem that space efficiency is not effect.
Moreover, in vehicles such as automobiles, usually, a display for a vehicle such as a meter is provided on an instrument panel and air blowout openings as in a ventilator grill or diffusing-gill are provided in positions out of the meter (for reference, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open 2000-264095).
However, in such a structure, because the meter and air blowout openings are formed by separate parts and disposed at different positions, increment of number of parts, increment of an installation space and a limitation of the instrument panel on a design by the increment of the parts and so on, have been generated.
Furthermore, there is known a conventional instrument panel structure for a vehicle, in which an opened air duct is provided in a rear surface of an instrument panel and a part of the instrument panel is used as an upper lid of the opened air duct (for reference, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open H 08-080762).
However, in the instrument panel structure for the vehicle, because the one portion of the instrument panel is merely used as the upper lid of the air duct, there is a problem that the air duct and so on cannot be still eliminated and a space efficiency within the instrument panel cannot be enhanced.